The First Book Of Samuel. Day 20, The Lord Tells Samuel To Warn The People About Having A King

In Friday's study we found the elders of Israel coming to Samuel asking him to appoint a king over the nation. This request was precipitated by the fact that Samuel is getting up in years and has handed some of his duties as judge over to his two sons. His sons, seduced by love of money, have been judging legal cases unfairly in favor of whoever could pay them a bribe. A king is not necessary in order to get these problems under control: Samuel is by no means mentally infirm or too physically frail to continue in his role as judge of Israel and he could simply fire his sons as his deputies. If he needs help due to his age and due to the traveling that is required as judge, he could appoint godly men of good reputation as his deputies to handle some of the workload. But the Lord foretold, in Deuteronomy 17, that a day would come when the people would demand a king. That day has arrived.

Samuel's feelings were hurt when the elders suggested it was time for him to retire and that he needed to appoint a king over the nation. He took his hurt feelings to the Lord and poured out his heart to Him. But the Lord pointed out that Samuel shouldn't be taking the men's words personally: "It is not you they have rejected, but it is Me they have rejected as their king." This is where we pick up our text today, with the Lord going on to say, "As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.'" (1 Samuel 8:8-9) 

The Lord always intended to establish a royal line in Israel; we find Jacob prophetically blessing the line of his son Judah, saying that to his descendants would belong the "sceptre" of Israel. (Genesis 49:10), but at this point in time the people are asking for a king for the wrong reasons. Just as the Lord predicted, in 1 Samuel 8:5 they ask for a king "like all the nations around us". (Deuteronomy 17:14) The Lord never wanted Israel to be like all the other nations. Time and again He has pointed out that they are to be different from all the other nations. He will agree to their request for a king but since at this particular time they want a king for the wrong reasons, He is going to allow them to have a king who does not have the right character for the job. In time the Lord will give them a king of His own choosing, who will be right for the job because he will have a heart for the Lord, and that king will be a blessing upon the nation. But the first king will be appointed as an instrument of discipline.

The Lord always intended to allow Israel to have kings but this is not the time period in which He wanted to do so. I've asked for things at the wrong time, haven't you? The thing I wanted may not have been sinful---it might even have been a very good thing---but it wasn't the right time for the Lord to cause it to come to pass. There have been occasions when I've gotten ahead of the Lord and have taken steps to make the thing happen when I wanted it to happen. That's always been a disaster! The Lord, like a good father, knows when we are ready to handle something new. To use an example of modern times, learning to drive a car can be a fun thing and it can be a blessed thing if it's done at the right time. A good father isn't going to hand the car keys to a ten-year-old and tell him to have a good time. A good father will wait until the child is physically tall enough to drive a car. A good father will wait until the child is legally old enough to drive a car. A good father will patiently teach his child to drive a car and will not hand over the keys and let his child drive alone until he is certain the child can responsibly do so. Many times in our lives the Lord intends to bestow a particular blessing upon us but He is waiting until we are ready to handle it responsibly. In the day in which the elders come to Samuel asking for a king, the people aren't yet ready to handle this particular thing responsibly. As we will soon see as we continue to move through the book, their choice of king will not be a wise choice. They will not appoint a man who loves the Lord with all his heart, which is what the Lord intended when He gave instructions for kings in Deuteronomy 17. As a result of not choosing wisely, the man they appoint will be carnally minded and selfish and will, as time goes on, fall prey to violence and obsessive delusions.

In tomorrow's study Samuel will do as the Lord says: he will warn the people about having a king. He will lay out for them what a king will demand of them. It can never be said that the Lord let them go into this venture blindly; He is going to tell them exactly what they are getting themselves into. The king they choose will demand much of them---more than they will want to give---because the man they appoint will not be operating in the right spirit. An ungodly leader is like a curse. But thanks be to God, there will be a number of godly kings in the Old Testament. There will be men who love the Lord and who love the people and who will set a wonderful spiritual example for the nation.